


Then There's You

by AxMa



Category: Football RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-06-08 04:51:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15235731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AxMa/pseuds/AxMa
Summary: The one where Eric's an eternally grumpy junior legal associate, and Dele's the bubbly new barista.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya!! So World Cup fever has well and truly struck and with it comes a resurgence of love for Dele and Eric.

It's not that Eric made a conscious life-decision to be grumpy, he was quite literally born that way. From the moment Eric left his mothers womb his brows seemed to be permanently furrowed, his lips always somewhat downturned in a symbol of distaste, as though the world around him was an almighty disappointment (which to be quite honest, was a theory not too far from reality). Upon reflection, Eric does feel rather guilty about it all. While other parents proudly displayed beaming photographs of their kids, Eric's parents presented a vast array of more subdued photographs, Eric's chubby baby face plastered into an expression of disaffected neutrality. 

As time passed, the whole 'grumpy' persona became a pretty easy way for Eric to coast through life undisturbed. The kids in preschool never bothered to ask to share Eric's toys and in high school, Eric always nabbed the best spots to study at in the library (where he was guaranteed peace and quiet). During University parties Eric always managed to avoid drunkards and hooligans, rather electing to reside himself to a dark corner of the party nestled up with a beer and his thoughts. 

So, while Eric can't say he's indulged in the most social upbringing, he can pride himself on coasting through life calmly and with minimal intrusion. Those around him quickly become accustomed to his disaffected responses, seemingly tailoring themselves to adapt to the grumpy flow of Eric's life. 

That's why, when Eric walks into his favorite coffee shop on Monday morning, he's less than content to find that his usual barista is absent. Stood in his place is some perky young chap, with a cheeky grin and mischievous cackle which resounds around the café. Eric has to contain himself from balking to obviously (he wouldn't want to draw any unnecessary attraction to himself) at the disturbance to his routine. Every day for the past two years, Eric has bought himself a cappuccino which had been prepared without fail by Mr. Harry Kane. Harry knew all of Eric's specifications; extra hot milk, not too much chocolate powder, and a triple shot. But, more importantly Harry had been a quick adapter to Eric's less than sunny personality. 

Eric would never really admit it (although he suspects that Harry is aware) but he himself had become quite fond of Harry, even going so far as to consider him as ... a friend. Although, all of a sudden Eric feels rather betrayed as he stares at the new barista who is quite clearly not Harry. 

"Who are you?" 

Eric hadn't realised that he had spoken aloud (and he certainly didn't anticipate how frosty his tone of delivery would be) until he saw an expression of mild shock waver on the barista's face.

"And a good morning to you too sir," the boy replies.

"I didn't say good morning," Eric replies grimly. The boy behind the counter quirks his eyebrow,

"I was being ironic."

Eric only hums disapprovingly.

"Ok, so someone hates Monday's even more than the rest of us. Anyway, what can I get you?"

"A Cappuccino," 

"Easy, can I have a name?"

This time Eric does balk. He's spoken to this stranger for less than a minute and he's already asking for his name. What strange type of flirting is this? 

"Ummm I'm not interested in a relationship." 

The barista stares at him blankly for a second before breaking out into that cackle of his. 

"I wasn't trying to pick you up mate." 

"Oh. What were you trying to do then?"

"Get your name so it's easier to call when your coffee is ready." 

'Oh' Eric thinks to himself again, that does make sense. 

"Harry never did that," he replies defensively.

"Well I'm not Harry mate," the boy chuckles before turning to the machine to go prepare Eric's coffee.

"It'll be ready in a minute mate." Eric nods stiffly before going to lean against a nearby counter as he waits. He still feels somewhat disconcerted by the disruption to his routine which he finds only exacerbated by the new barista's constant referral to him as 'mate'. 

After a minute or so of becoming lost in thought, Eric hears the call of his name. He quickly darts to retrieve his coffee, hoping to escape the café as soon as possible. Muttering a quick 'cheers' under his breath he traipses outside onto the bustling street. Freedom at last. 

Although his relief is short-lived. 

The milk of his coffee is hot, not EXTRA hot, the chocolate powder is exploding in his mouth and he swears that the coffee only has a mere two shots (how on earth is Eric meant to survive a working day on TWO shots). It's moments like these which remind him why he appreciates routine. 

Because when a person has a routine they have structure, and when a person has structure they can't be disturbed.


	2. Chapter 2

Eric spends his walk to work stewing over the disaster that was his morning coffee. While a trivial occurrence in many people's mind, this disruption to Eric's livelihood will be a blemish that stains for days to come. It's at that moment that Eric deduces that the new barista will never measure up to Harry. 

With a huff, Eric bustles through the rotating door of Pochettino Legal Company. He shoots a stormy glare as he walks, baby-faced interns scattering as he migrates to the elevator. It's not as though Eric holds much more authority than the interns (he is only a junior legal assistant), however, his death-stare is of such an ominous nature, that one would think that Eric was Mr. Pochettino himself. 

"Someone's looking rough, or at least, more rough than usual," 

"Jan," Eric greets in response to his Belgian counterpart as the elevator doors shut. 

"Who pissed in your cereal?" Eric frowns as the expression.

"Must you be so vulgar? I don't like having my breakfast associated with such an act," Eric huffs out as Jan merely chuckles in response. 

"Oh man, you surely do brighten my day buddy," Jan sighs, with a light shove to Eric's shoulder, as he exits the lift. Eric follows behind his colleague, maintaining a fair amount of distance as to avoid any more unnecessary socialising. He'd hate to admit it, but Jan's words niggle in the back of his brain. 'I can be bright,' Eric thinks. 'I can be bubbly?' The thoughts are more like questions circulating around his brain. If he's being quite honest he's not completely certain that either proposal awaits in the near future. The life of a junior legal assistant isn't exactly one of great inspiration. While his days follow along a repetitive routine, it's not the kind of routine that Eric finds himself appreciating. 

His day usually consists of coffee collecting, sitting in on meetings while acting as a scribe, offering the odd contribution to case discussions (which no-one ever seems to listen to, so really whats the point) and then receiving piles of files to review, an activity which stretches beyond the workplace and occupies much of Eric's free time. 'No wonder I have no friends,' Eric justifies. Some nights, he'd turn up at his favourite café with armfuls of paperwork, Harry shouting him a free coffee to boost his morale and productivity. Now, what is he supposed to do? He doubts that he's charming enough to persuade the new barista into giving him free caffeine. And with that thought in mind, Eric's day gets just a little bit worse. 

 

xxxx

Just as predicted, Eric finds himself tottering home after a long day of work with a fresh stack of files in his arms. He eventually finds himself approaching the infamous café. Driven by a strange wave of curiosity he peers inside, maybe hoping to be reunited with the familiar sight of Harry behind the coffee machine, but alas, it is not to be. Instead, Eric finds himself making awkwardly prolonged eye contact with the new barista as said barista wipes down the surface of a counter. The chap shoots Eric a smile and a wave, the latter which Eric attempts to return (out of politeness). However, it's in that exact moment that Eric forgets about the load of paperwork that adorns his arms leaving him with no time to react as binders of case files crash onto the outside pavement.

"Shit, shit, shit," Eric mutters as he crouches quickly and attempts to bundle the files back into his arms.

"Sorry mate didn't mean to distract you," Eric hears from above him. Somehow, barista man has migrated outside, concerned lines emerging on his forehead as he watches Eric on the floor.

"Need a hand?" The man offers,

"These files are confidential." Eric counters

"Eh, what am I gonna do with any information." Eric stares in awe as the man crouches down next to him and aids with the gathering of documents. Choosing not the inflate the situation to an even more embarrassing level, Eric stays silent. Eventually, the pathway is cleared of all papers.

"You can come inside you know, we're still open," 

"I can see that," Eric replies while the man looks at him expectantly. 

"I have work to do," Eric eventually breaks the silence, glancing down at the files in his arms.

"Well, ok mate, whatever floats your boat," 

"Yes, it does float my boat."

"Ok, then I'll see you tomorrow morning maybe? Cappuccino time," The barista laughs out.

"Yes, tomorrow morning," Eric mutters with a stiff nod as the boy re-enters the café, sending Eric a parting wave as he goes. 

With a huff, Eric continues on his path, determined to evacuate this conglomerate scene of embarrassment. Until next time.


	3. Chapter 3

Despite the negativity of the previous day's experience, Eric finds himself submitting to routine and standing outside of the coffee shop. A weird part of him feels as though he needs a pep talk before entering so that he doesn't end up as shook up as last time. Today, he vows to keep his composure. 

"Good morning sunshine," Eric is greeted with as he passes through the door. Eric's response is a scowl. Yep, his vow of nonchalance is pretty much already gone.

"What can I get you today sweetness." It's not often that people try to comment on Eric's apparent grumpiness (they're probably far too intimidated to do so), the sarcasm of the barista's tone only proceeding to throw Eric even more off his game. 

"A cappuccino, again."

The barista nods in reply,

"Easy." Eric watches as the worker goes to begin grinding the beans before he decides to interject.

"But..." his voice cuts through the silence, the barista raising an intrigued eyebrow in response.

"Uh yeah?" The worker waits expectantly,

"I would appreciate it if it could be made with extra hot milk, and maybe hold off on the chocolate power AND 3 shots,"   
.  
.  
. 

"please," he adds on carefully at the end. 

"Easy," the barista repeats with a nod of his head, essentially unaffected by Eric's disturbance.

"Good," 

"Good," the barista echoes with a smile leaving Eric to resume his place against his normal nearby counter, as he awaits his brew. It's as he's waiting that he gets a good chance to suss out the new barista, from his lengthy limbs as they work on the coffee machine, to his glossy skin-tone. The boy has deep chocolate eyes, his eyelashes fanning in an almost feminine manner. 

Eric must become rather involved in his analysis because it takes a solid few calls of his name before he finally responds.

"I thought you were falling asleep on my mate." Eric attempts a casual chuckle in response. He's pretty sure he fails.

"Dele," the barista offers. Eric's confusion peaks.

"Um, huh?"

"Dele," the boy chuckles,

"It's my name."

"Oh."

"I know your name so you may as well know mine, right?" The barista offers with a smile.

"Oh yeah, makes sense," Eric mutters as silence consumes the pair.

"Well, here's your coffee mate." Eric had almost forgotten about that. Forgotten about the whole reason behind submitting himself to his new routine of apparent embarrassment and awkwardness.

"Cheers, thanks," he mutters collecting the takeaway cup.

"Anytime mate gotta keep my customers loyal," Eric responds with a nod before stiffly exiting the café. 

It's a relief to get outside. He doesn't know whether the café is stuffy or whether he's just flushed with grumpy awkwardness. Either way, he soon finds solace in his coffee. Which, to Eric's delight has been made perfectly according to Eric's request. He feels an odd sense of accomplishment, glad that he's achieved at least something today. 

Perhaps Eric has adopted an extra pep to his step because a few hours later, as he waits in the cafeteria queue for lunch he's propositioned by Jan, Mousa, and Sonny (the latter who is usually far too scared to even look Eric's way). 

"What's got you happy?" Jan questions with a nudge and Eric knows that there is no use trying to ignore him. Jan is awfully persistent.

"I had a good coffee this morning," he grumbles in reply.

"Bless your soul Eric, you are a simple man aren't you." Jan's tone suggests that he's giving Eric a compliment and yet his words don't quite seem to match. He isn't given adequate time to contemplate this further as Mousa cuts in,

"So...who's the lucky lady?" 

If Eric had any water in his mouth, he would be sure to have spat it out upon hearing that. His surprise is obviously evident as Mousa tries to rectify his comment,

"Or a lucky man?" He suggests hopefully. 

"No one, there is no lucky person. None," he spits out, almost offended by the notion.

"Well maybe there should be Eric," Jan pleads while Sonny (who Eric had almost forgotten was even there) nods along in support. 

"Someone out there is going to love your grumpy guts," Jan suggests. 

"If I wanted to be in a relationship, I would be in one."

"Yeah sure Eric," Mousa scoffs while Eric sends him a scandalised look.

"I can be lovable...even Jan said so," Eric emphasises with a gesture to the offending character.

"The Christmas Party!" Sonny pipes up,

"Now is not the time, Sonny," Mousa dismisses.

"No!" Jan exclaims, "He's onto something."  
There's a glimmer in Jan's eyes which makes Eric's blood pressure rise.

"If you're so lovable Eric, then we'll expect to see you with a plus one at the Christmas party."

"What? Is this some sort of bet?"

"Ooh what a good idea Eric! A bet!" Mousa cuts in,

"Don't be juvenile," Eric mutters,

"Well if you're so superior and mature, then you have nothing to lose!" Jan pipes up. It's at this point that Eric knows he's not going to get out of this situation too easily. Mousa is smiling knowingly while Sonny just looks flushed with excitement. 

"Let's say you bring someone to the Christmas party, I'll reward you by doing ALL of your extra paperwork, for a whole year."  
Eric can't lie, the offer is tempting and would mean no more late nights working (or no more scattering of files over random pathways!).

"What else?" Eric pries, hoping to reap more from Jan. The latter man looks somewhat taken aback, probably shocked that Eric is on board with his silly, little plan.

"Ummm..." Jan drawls as he tries to assemble an attractive offer. Eric merely raises his eyebrows in a calculating manner.  
"Aha, I got an offer you can't refuse," Jan bursts out in excitement.

"Let's hear it then,"  
Jan inhales deeply, building the anticipation,

"I'll stop pestering you," Jan finishes. Honestly, Eric is surprised by Jan's self-awareness. A tempting offer indeed.  
"Really?" Eric offers,

"Truly. No more elevator intimidations. You can avoid me all you like!" 

"Yeah, but what if you guys win, and I can't find anyone to bring to the party?" Eric asks, looking for a hole in the trio's plot.

"Simple. You do all of our extra work. All 3 of us," Mousa pipes up as the other two nod. Honestly, the deal seems appetising (mostly the promise of escape from Jan's constant pestering). 

"It's a deal," Eric decides,  
"Deal!" Jan yells before embracing Mousa and Sonny and chanting,

"Eric's gonna find love! Eric's gonna find love." Obviously, this brings strange looks from the others in the cafeteria, especially seeing as it's a cafeteria at a LAW FIRM, which in Eric's mind is a place of boredom and dreariness, not childish chanting.  
Hoping to escape the scene before him he shuffles away, promptly followed by Jan's call of,  
"Cya loverboy," and his abrupt cackle. 

"He won't be laughing for long," Eric mutters under his breath. Eric could do it, Eric could find love. Right?


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the delay in posting. I've just started a new semester at University so I've been trying to get my life in order (AHHHHH!!). I will try my best to update when possible xx

It's as Eric is walking down the street the next morning when he fully computes how stupid his whole situation is. I mean, who has to be coerced into trying to find love? Apparently Eric. 

Surely his situation isn't that dire! He's only 24, and sure he's never really been in a relationship before but surely that's not wholly uncommon! Or at least, that's what Eric chooses to believe. After all, why should he spend his time worrying about what could have been? For Eric, it was time to look into the future, and perhaps that meant opening up to more people, becoming more personable. 

With that in mind, Eric enters the coffee shop and matches Dele's own smile with a grin of his own. 

"Someone's happy, should I be concerned?"

Perhaps in an act of defiance, the smile on Eric's face is immediately swapped for a frown. 

"I'll have you know that I'm a very joyful person," Eric grumbles, hardly even convincing himself. 

"Whatever you say, big guy," Dele grins,

"The usual?"

Eric nods in reply, offering another, smaller smile as a token of thanks before assembling his usual position near the counter. 

"So, busy day ahead?" Dele inquires as his hands work nimbly over the knobs of the coffee machine.

"Yeah, it's always busy," Comes Eric's inspiring reply. Dele nods along,

"What do you actually do? You know I'm a barista, only seems fair that I get to know what you do," the boy smiles cheekily. 

"Uh, I'm a junior associate at a law firm." 

Dele's eyes flash with recognition,

"Ahhh, that makes a lot of sense"

"Does it?" 

Dele chuckles,  
"Yeah! No wonder you're strung so tight."   
Despite the casual jest of Dele's justification, Eric feels somewhat offended. 'Strung tight'. Surely not.   
Although, as Eric contemplates more on that statement it does seem kind of true.

Eric only ends up eliciting an unenthusiastic hum in reply, probably not doing much to help ease his 'highly strung' image. 

"Well anyway, here's your coffee. Hope it eases some of your tension," Dele says with a sly wink which turns Eric's skin a slight, shade of pink. Eric makes sure to scuttle out the café before anyone else can notice. 

The pink of Eric's skin only grows as he trudges through the chilly air to his workplace, the wind biting at his cheeks. Soon enough, Eric finds solace as he scuttles into the building. Although, this apparent calm is short-lived as a bouncy Sonny soon appears in his peripheral. 

"What," Eric snaps, still reeling from the bitter cold of outside. 

"Oooh someone's snappy. You won't find a date using that attitude, Dier," Sonny sing-songs.

"Unlike you, not all of us can be sunny by name, sunny by nature," the blonde grumbles,

"Well actually, my name is spelled with an 'o', not a 'u'..."

"Technicalities Sonny! You catch my drift,"

"Hmm well... my point still stands Dier. Put a smile on that dial!" Eric's colleague chants after him, as Eric picks up speed, hoping to lose the presence of his cheerful counterpart. 

With a huff, Eric finally escapes to his desk, a small space cramped in the corner of the office. In true fashion, his space isn't flashy or well decorated, the only point of interest being a petite, prickly cactus nuzzled to the corner of his desk. 

'A prickly cactus for a prickly boy,' Jan had once taunted him, his point only being proven when Eric replied with a flash of his signature stormy, frown. But, despite the judgment, Eric takes great pride in his little cactus, watering it when appropriate and placing it in any slither of sunlight that appears throughout the day. 

Perhaps, he just dotes on the little plant as to prove a point that he can care for something. Now, Eric simply needs to find something, or, someONE rather, to care for. Eric needed a new cactus. But this time, a human equivalent.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos/Comments are much appreciated. Ta ta xx


End file.
